AFL agent Blucher banned for 12 months

Date: January 24 2013

Greg Buckle

The fallout over Kurt Tippett's AFL draft-tampering scandal continued on Thursday when his manager was banned from acting as a player agent for a year.

The AFL Players' Association's Agent Accreditation Board (AFLPA AAB) handed down the suspension to Peter Blucher after hearing a submission from Blucher in which he didn't contest their findings but argued his case over the size of the ban.

The AFL had previously announced that former Adelaide forward Tippett will serve an 11-game suspension for his new club Sydney in 2013 for his role in the salary-cap rort surrounding his 2009 contract with the Crows.

However, the AFL's authority doesn't extend to player agents.

AFLPA AAB chairman Ian Prendergast said Blucher's ban would take immediate effect and the six-year veteran of the industry would have to sit a three-and-a-half-hour exam and achieve a mark of at least 75 per cent as part of his re-accreditation process.

Prendergast said Blucher had made false declarations in his role as a player agent.

"Certainly the strong direction we get from players is they need to be able to trust the role that those people play within the industry," Prendergast said.

"The board has found that Peter Blucher was in breach of his obligation to act in the legitimate best interests of his client Kurt Tippett, was in breach of his obligation to act in a professional manner and to exercise due care and skill at all times.

"There was no dispute in relation to the findings of our legal consultant who conducted the investigation.

"It's an extremely serious matter which we've now dealt with. I think this certainly sends a strong message."

Prendergast said Blucher had cooperated fully with the investigation and had a significant contribution to the game, particularly in Queensland.

"He is someone ... who is deeply remorseful for the conduct that we dealt with today," Prendergast said.

"Peter's explanation was certainly very human in terms of trusting representations of others around him but he accepted the findings of the investigator in terms of the facts that were set out in that report and the charges."